'''Nepali''' is the official language of [[Nepal]]. It's related to ''Hindi'', ''Punjabi'', and other Indo-Aryan languages, and is normally written with the '''[[Devanagari]]''' script (as is Hindi). While most Nepalese people speak at least some Nepali, it is not the mother tongue of a large percentage of the population. An example of other languages spoken in Nepal are '''Tharu''' around [[Chitwan National Forest|Chitwan]], '''Newari''' in the [[Kathmandu Valley]], and '''Sharwa (Sherpa)''' in the [[Mount Everest|Everest]] area.

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'''Nepali''' is the official language of [[Nepal]]. It's related to ''Hindi'', ''Punjabi'', and other Indo-Aryan languages, and is normally written with the '''[[Devanagari]]''' script (as is Hindi). While most Nepalese people speak at least some Nepali, there are more than 100 different languages and dialects spoken in Nepal. An example of other languages spoken in Nepal are '''Tharu''' around [[Chitwan National Forest|Chitwan]], '''Newari''' in the [[Kathmandu Valley]], and '''Sharwa (Sherpa)''' in the [[Mount Everest|Everest]] area.

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Educated Nepalis can often speak English, because of the proximity of India, even though Nepal was never a British colony. Learning even a few words of Nepali can be fun and very useful, especially outside of the tourist district and while trekking.

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Educated Nepalis can often speak English, because of the popularity of boarding school as public school can not compete for quality education. Learning even a few words of Nepali can be fun and very useful, especially outside of the tourist district and while trekking.

There are lots words of borrowed from other languages, especially English, so most of the Nepali people understand these words rather then its literal meaning in Nepali e.g. coat, TV, breakfast,basket etc.

There are lots words of borrowed from other languages, especially English, so most of the Nepali people understand these words rather then its literal meaning in Nepali e.g. coat, TV, breakfast,basket etc.

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==Pronunciation==

==Pronunciation==

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h A superscript "h" indicates that the proceeding consonant is aspirated. "Aspiration" just means that the sound involves a more forceful breath. At first it will sound like everyone around you is always on the verge of laughing -- "c -ha!- t" "d -ha!- og!" For now it's just important to remember that "th" is not the "th" sound in "that" -- there is no "thuuu" sound in Nepali.

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h A superscript "h" indicates that the proceeding consonant is aspirated. "Aspiration" just means that the sound involves a more forceful breath. At first it will sound like everyone around you is always on the verge of laughing -- "c -ha!- t" "d -ha!- og!"

n A superscript "n" indicates that the proceeding vowel is nasal. To the English-speaking ear (don't try to visualize that too hard) nasalized vowels just sound like they are followed by a "n." Listen to yourself say words like "injury," "animal," and "young."

n A superscript "n" indicates that the proceeding vowel is nasal. To the English-speaking ear (don't try to visualize that too hard) nasalized vowels just sound like they are followed by a "n." Listen to yourself say words like "injury," "animal," and "young."

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! The trickiest sound for non-natives are the "retroflex" consonants. Usually they are represented by a dot under the letter or by bold text, but I find that too easy to overlook so I'm using an exclamation mark. The retroflex consonants are what make an "Indian accent" sound "Indian." Think of Apu the Kwik E Mart owner, from the Simpsons, then:

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! The trickiest sound for non-natives are the "retroflex" consonants. Usually they are represented by a dot under the letter or by bold text, but I find that too easy to overlook so I'm using an exclamation mark.

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#Find your tongue

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#Find the inside of your mouth

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#Use your tongue to poke at the roof of your mouth

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#Notice there's a kind of ridge behind your top teeth

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#Curl your tongue so that the bottom of the tip is touching this ridge

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#Look in a mirror

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#Do you see the gross bottom of your tongue? Good!

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#Now say "Doh!" like Homer

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#Now find someone you know who can make the sound and have them show you

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All the Nepali words you'll see here are written in "Roman Transliteration" -- which just means using the Roman alphabet to try and represent sounds in the Nepali alphabet (which isn't really an "alphabet" per se, but that's another conversation).

All the Nepali words you'll see here are written in "Roman Transliteration" -- which just means using the Roman alphabet to try and represent sounds in the Nepali alphabet (which isn't really an "alphabet" per se, but that's another conversation).

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===Vowels===

===Vowels===

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; a : like 'a' in "apple",

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; आ (aa) : like 'a' in "father"

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; aa : like 'a' in "made", but longer

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; इ (i) : like the 'i' in "sit"

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; e : 'e' in "bed"

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; उ (u) : like 'oo' in "boot"

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; i : like the 'y' in "Johnney"

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; ए (e) : like 'e' in "bed"

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; o : like 'o' in "top"

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; ओ (o) : like 'o' in "go"

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; u : like 'oo' in "coop"

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===Consonants===

===Consonants===

; b : like 'b' in "bed"

; b : like 'b' in "bed"

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; bh : like 'b' in "bed," but with an extra puff of air, like "Bhuh-ed"

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; bh : like 'b' in "bed," but with an extra puff of air, like "Bhutan"

; ch : like 'ch' in "chat"

; ch : like 'ch' in "chat"

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; chh : like 'ch' at the end of "church"

; d : like 'd' in "dog"

; d : like 'd' in "dog"

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; d : like 'd' in "dog" but with an extra puff of air, like "Dhuh-og"

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; dh : like 'd' in "dog" but with an extra puff of air, like "Dhaka"

; f : like 'f' in "frog"

; f : like 'f' in "frog"

; g : like 'g' in "go"

; g : like 'g' in "go"

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; gh : like 'g' in "go" but with an extra puff of air "gh

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; gh : like 'g' in "go" but with an extra puff of air, like "Ghana"

; h : like 'h' in "help" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries)

; h : like 'h' in "help" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries)

; j : like 'dg' in "edge"

; j : like 'dg' in "edge"

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; jh:

; k : like 'c' in "cat"

; k : like 'c' in "cat"

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; kh : like 'kh' in "Khaki"

; l : like 'l' in "love"

; l : like 'l' in "love"

; m : like 'm' in "mother"

; m : like 'm' in "mother"

; n : like 'n' in "nice"

; n : like 'n' in "nice"

; p : like 'p' in "pig"

; p : like 'p' in "pig"

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; ph : like 'ph' in "phone"

; q : like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)

; q : like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)

; r : like 'r' in "row", like 'r' in "feather" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries at end of word)

; r : like 'r' in "row", like 'r' in "feather" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries at end of word)

Revision as of 09:47, 7 January 2013

Nepali is the official language of Nepal. It's related to Hindi, Punjabi, and other Indo-Aryan languages, and is normally written with the Devanagari script (as is Hindi). While most Nepalese people speak at least some Nepali, there are more than 100 different languages and dialects spoken in Nepal. An example of other languages spoken in Nepal are Tharu around Chitwan, Newari in the Kathmandu Valley, and Sharwa (Sherpa) in the Everest area.

Educated Nepalis can often speak English, because of the popularity of boarding school as public school can not compete for quality education. Learning even a few words of Nepali can be fun and very useful, especially outside of the tourist district and while trekking.

There are lots words of borrowed from other languages, especially English, so most of the Nepali people understand these words rather then its literal meaning in Nepali e.g. coat, TV, breakfast,basket etc.

Pronunciation

h A superscript "h" indicates that the proceeding consonant is aspirated. "Aspiration" just means that the sound involves a more forceful breath. At first it will sound like everyone around you is always on the verge of laughing -- "c -ha!- t" "d -ha!- og!"

n A superscript "n" indicates that the proceeding vowel is nasal. To the English-speaking ear (don't try to visualize that too hard) nasalized vowels just sound like they are followed by a "n." Listen to yourself say words like "injury," "animal," and "young."

! The trickiest sound for non-natives are the "retroflex" consonants. Usually they are represented by a dot under the letter or by bold text, but I find that too easy to overlook so I'm using an exclamation mark.
All the Nepali words you'll see here are written in "Roman Transliteration" -- which just means using the Roman alphabet to try and represent sounds in the Nepali alphabet (which isn't really an "alphabet" per se, but that's another conversation).

In English we use a combination of letters to represent different sounds, so the "a" in "father" is different from the "a" in "made" or "bat". In the transliteration of Nepali, one letter pretty much equals one sound. There are no silent "q"s or "k"s or "e"s. K-n-i-e-f is "K-nief," m-a-d-e is "ma-de," etc.

Consonants, with the exception of the aspirated and retroflex variety are pretty much what you'd expect.

Vowels

आ (aa)

like 'a' in "father"

इ (i)

like the 'i' in "sit"

उ (u)

like 'oo' in "boot"

ए (e)

like 'e' in "bed"

ओ (o)

like 'o' in "go"

Consonants

b

like 'b' in "bed"

bh

like 'b' in "bed," but with an extra puff of air, like "Bhutan"

ch

like 'ch' in "chat"

chh

like 'ch' at the end of "church"

d

like 'd' in "dog"

dh

like 'd' in "dog" but with an extra puff of air, like "Dhaka"

f

like 'f' in "frog"

g

like 'g' in "go"

gh

like 'g' in "go" but with an extra puff of air, like "Ghana"

h

like 'h' in "help" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries)

j

like 'dg' in "edge"

jh

k

like 'c' in "cat"

kh

like 'kh' in "Khaki"

l

like 'l' in "love"

m

like 'm' in "mother"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

p

like 'p' in "pig"

ph

like 'ph' in "phone"

q

like 'q' in "quest" (with "u", almost always)

r

like 'r' in "row", like 'r' in "feather" (often silent in the UK and other Commonwealth countries at end of word)

s

like 'ss' in "hiss"

t

like 't' in "top"

v

at the beginning of a word, somewhere between the "v" in "vice" and "w" in "wives." In the middle of a word somewhere between the "v" in "vice" and the "b" in "bike." Spelling-wise, these are interchangable ("Shiva-Shiba" "Vishnu"-"Wishnu"). Err on the side of a "v" sound.

Months

The Nepali Calendar, called Bikram Sambat or B.S., is a lunar calendar based on ancient Hindu tradition. It is roughly 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar (the year 2000 AD was equivalent to the years 2056-2057 BS). The beginning of the year usually falls on the 13th or 14th of April. Therefore, the months are not compatible with the Gregorian calendar.

April

Baisakh (...)

May

Jestha (...)

June

Asadh (...)

July

Shrawan (...)

August

Bhadra (...)

September

Ashoj (...)

October

Kartik (...)

November

Mangshir (...)

December

Poush (...)

January

Magh (...)

February

Falgun (...)

March

Chaitra (...)

Writing Time and Date

Give some examples how to write clock times and dates if it differs from Enlish.

Colors

black

kalo (...)

white

seto (...)

gray

kharani (...)

red

raato (...)

blue

nilo (...)

yellow

pahelo (...)

green

hariyo (...)

orange

suntala rang (...)

purple

baijani (...)

brown

khairo (...)

pink

gulabi (..'.)

Transportation

Bus and Train

How much is a ticket to _____?

Ticket ko kati paisa ho _____? (...)

One ticket to _____, please.

Euta ticket dinu hos _____? (...)

Where does this train/bus go?

Yo gadi kahan janchha? (...)

Where is the train/bus to _____?

Gaadi kahan pauchha _____? (...)

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

Yo gadi _____ ma rokchha? (...)

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

Gadi kun bela janchha _____? (...)

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

Kun bela ma puginchha _____? (...)

What time does the last bus leave?

Last bust kun bela janchha? (...)

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?

_____ kasari jhaane? (...)

...the train station?

...the train station? (...)

...the bus station?

...the bus station? (...)

...the airport?

...the airport? (...)

...downtown?

...downtown? (...)

...the youth hostel?

...the youth hostel? (...)

...the _____ hotel?

...the _____ hotel? (...)

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? (...)

Where are there a lot of...

Where are there a lot of... (...)

...hotels?

...hotels? (...)

...restaurants?

...restaurants? (...)

...bars?

...bars? (...)

...sites to see?

...sites to see? (...)

Can you show me on the map?

malaai naksamaa dekhunus? (...)

street

baato(...)

Turn left.

baayaa jaanus. (ba-ya, jaa-noos)

Turn right.

daya jaanus. (...)

left

left (baayaa) (bye yaa)

right

right (dayaa)(die yaa)

straight ahead

sidha (See-DAH)

towards the _____

_____ tira (tei-raw..)

past the _____

_____ pachhi (paw-chie)

before the _____

_____ aghaaDi (o-gaa-Di)

Watch for the _____.

_____lai hernus. (lie-hey r-noos)

intersection

intersection (...)

north

uttar (u-tta-rr)

south

dakshin (duck- shin)

east

purba (pu-r-ba)

west

paschim (pos-chim)

uphill

ukaalo (oo-kaa-low)

downhill

ohralo (o-raa-low)

Taxi

Taxi!

Taxi!

Take me to _____, please.

kripaya,malaai________ laanus. (kri-paw-yaa, ma-lie- laa-noos)

How much does it cost to get to _____?

____ maa jaana kaati parchha? ( maa-jaa-na ka-ti, par-chaa)

Take me there, please.

kripaya, malaai tyahaa laanus. (kri-payaa, ma-lie tya-haa, laa-noos)

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?

America/Australia/Canada ko paisaa chalchha? (...)

Do you accept British pounds?

Belaayatko paisaa chalchha? (...)

Do you accept credit cards?

Credit card chalchha? (...)

Can you change money for me?

Malaai khoodraa dinu hunchha ki? (...)

Where can I get money changed?

Paisa kahaa saatinchha? (...)

Can you change a traveler's check for me?

travel check linuhucnhha? (...)

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?

tralvel check kahaa saatichha? (...)

What is the exchange rate?

saTahi dar ke chha? (...)

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?

(ATM)maysin kahaa chaa? (...)

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.

kripaya Table ek yaa dui janaako lagi. (...)

Can I look at the menu, please?

ma menu herna sakchhu? (...)

Can I look in the kitchen?

ma Bhancha herna sakchhu? (...)

Is there a house specialty?

gharmaa banaaieko kehi chha? (...)

Is there a local specialty?

sthaaniya bisess kehi chha? (...)

I'm a vegetarian.

Ma Saahkahari Hu. (Ma- ma-SU Kan-DIE-nah)

I don't eat pork.

ma bungoor/sungur khaadina. (...)

I only eat kosher food.

I only eat kosher food. (...)

Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)

chillo kam halnus, please? (...)

fixed-price meal

nischit darko khaanaa

(...)

à la carte

à la carte (...)

breakfast

breakfast (...)

lunch

khana (...)

tea (meal)

chiya (...)

supper

khaja (...)

I want _____.

_____ chahanchhu. (...)

I want a dish containing _____.

_____bhaeko thaal chahanchhu. (...)

chicken

kukhuraa (...)

beef

gaaiko/gohruhko masu (...)

fish

maachhaa(...)

ham

ham (...)

cheese

chij (...)

eggs

anDaa (...)

salad

salad (...)

(fresh) vegetables

(taajaa) tarkaari (...)

(fresh) fruit

(taajaa) phalphul (...)

bread

pauroTi(pauroti)

toast

toast (...)

noodles

chau chau (...)

rice

bhat (BHAT)

lentils

daal (da-all)

May I have ai glass of _____?

malaai ek gilaas _____ dinus? (...)

May I have a cup of _____?

malaai ek cup _____ dinus? (...)

May I have a bottle of _____?

malaai ek botal_____ dinus? (...)

coffee

coffee (...)

tea (drink)

chiya (CHEE-ah)

juice

juice (...)

water

pani (PAN-ee)

beer

beer (BEER)

May I have some _____?

malaai kehi _____ dinus? (...)

salt

nun (noon)

black pepper

marich (...)

butter

butter (...)

I'm finished.

bhayo. (BHA-YO)

It was delicious.

Mito chaa (...)

Please clear the plates.

Please clear the plates. (The waiter is usually hovering to take your plate, you will not need this)(...)

The check, please.

Bill please. (Asking for the 'check' may cause some minor confusion)(...)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?

Do you serve alcohol? (...)

Is there table service?

Is there table service? (...)

A beer/two beers, please.

A beer/two beers, please. (...)

A glass of red/white wine, please.

A glass of red/white wine, please. (...)

A pint, please.

A pint, please. (...)

A bottle, please.

A bottle, please. (...)

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.

_____ and _____, please. (...)

whiskey

whiskey (...)

vodka

vodka (...)

rum

rum (...)

water

water (pani)

club soda

club soda (...)

tonic water

tonic water (...)

orange juice

orange juice (...)

Coke (soda)

Coke (...)

Do you have any bar snacks?

Do you have any bar snacks? (...)

One more, please.

One more, please. (...)

Another round, please.

Another round, please. (...)

When is closing time?

kati khera bandha hunchha? (...)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?

mero size maa mil chha? (...)

How much is this?

yes ko kati parchha? (...)

That's too expensive.

yo ekdam mahango bhayo. (...)

Would you take _____?

_____ rupiya linus? (...)

expensive

mahango (...)

cheap

sasto (...)

I can't afford it.

ma kinna sakdina. (...)

I don't want it.

malaai chahidaina. (...)

You're cheating me.

tapaai malaai chhaldai hunuhunchha. (...)

I'm not interested.

ma ichchhuk chhaina. (..)

OK, I'll take it.

OK, thik chha, ma yo linchhu. (...)

Can I have a bag?

malaai euTaa jhoolaa dinus? (...)

Do you ship (overseas)?

tapaai shipmaa paThaunuhunchha(bidesmaa)? (...)

I need...

malaai chaahinchha... (...)

...toothpaste.

...danta manjan. (...)

...a toothbrush.

...daat majhne burus. (...)

...tampons.

...tampons. (...)

...soap.

sabun. (...)

...shampoo.

...shampoo. (...)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)

...dukhaai haTaaune aushadhi. (...)

...cold medicine.

...chiso dawaai. (...)

...stomach medicine.

...peTko aushadi. (...)

...a razor.

...a razor. (...)

...an umbrella.

...chhataa. (...)

...sunblock lotion.

...sunblock lotion. (...)

...a postcard.

...a postcard. (...)

...postage stamps.

...hulaak Tikat. (...)

...batteries.

...batteries. (...)

...writing paper.

...lekhne kaapi. (...)

...a pen.

...kalam. (...)

...English-language books.

...angreji bhaasaako kitaab. (...)

...English-language magazines.

...angreji bhaasaako patrikaa. (...)

...an English-language newspaper.

...angreji bhaasaako patrikaa. (...)

...an English-English dictionary.

...angreji bhaasaako sabdkosh. (...)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.

Maile kehi galti gareko chaina. (...)

It was a misunderstanding.

bujhaai maa kehi galti thiyo. (...)

Where are you taking me?

tapaai malaai kahaa laadai hunuhunchha? (...)

Am I under arrest?

ma pakrau pareko hu? (...)

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.

ma American/Australian/British/Canadian naagarik hu. (...)

I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.